


Lean on Me

by CSM



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Minor Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-04-06 19:24:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4233777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CSM/pseuds/CSM
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post Flash 1x08. Felicity helps take care of injured Oliver after his fight with Barry. Aka they are so married and they don't even know it</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lean on Me

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the MTV reblog thing, but then it got out of hand. I was watching Flash 1x08 recently and Felicity concerns for Oliver made me think of what happened AFTER the fight and I realized so one had written something like that so I decided to tackle it .

“I really think you should have gone to the hospital.” Felicity grumbles for the fifth time since they started to make their way back to their hotel, “Or at least let Caitlin have a look. She  _is_  a doctor you know.”

“And I told you, its just a few bruises. I’ve had worse.” Oliver promises grunting in pain as they stumble into Felicity’s hotel room. 

Diggle got a call from Lyla right after they fixed Barry that Sara seems to have developed some kind of flu or is colic and for a newborn its not ideal so Diggle took the first flight out to Starling City. Oliver and Felicity opting to drive the van the 600 miles back to Starling in the morning.

The hotel is more like an apartment complex, or as Felicity likes to say a fancier motel. Oliver only liked it because they could slip in and out of the two bedroom apartment without anyone knowing. Oliver had been camping out on the couch, preferring to be in the living room than take up residence in one of the bedrooms. Neither Felicity nor Diggle argued with his logic knowing how paranoid he can get.

“You could have a broken rib.” Felicity counters in exasperation as Oliver topples onto the pullout couch in pain. She tosses her heels to the side and pads into her bedroom, her voice still carrying, “they have x-rays and  _everything_  you need in STAR Labs including an  _actual_  doctor...”

“Felicity, I have a cut lip and bruises that will heal in time. I just need to tape up my torso, something you’re more than capable of doing.”  Oliver argues. She can tell he’s losing his patience but she doesn’t care.

She walks into the room, the duffle bag with their medical supplies in her arms and tosses it onto the bed next to Oliver. She places her hands on her hips and glares down at him. “Well first off, we need to get you out of those clothes and into a proper bed.”

Oliver eyebrows quirk at her comment, but Felicity splutters out nervously, “ Not  _my_  bed but the other bed...John’s bed...cause he left its free and you should rest in a proper bed...just get up and go over there.”

Felicity sighs placing her hand on her forehead silently counting to three. When she opens her eyes she sees Oliver is looking at her in amusement, “shouldn’t you patch me up first, before you banish me to the room?”

“You’re making fun of me?” Felicity asks incredulously. 

She’s more surprised that he can even tell a  _joke,_ what did he and Barry even talk about on their way back to STAR Labs? Oliver was even cracking a smile when she went outside to meet him. Well he was more grimacing with a  _hint_  of a smile but that is still more than what she’s use to.

“No,” Oliver says quickly, He takes her momentary silence for anger, it seems. “I just need you to tape this up for me. This bed is a little low and getting up...”

“ _Oh_! Let me get you some painkillers.” Felicity hastily. She makes her way quickly to the small kitchen. “ I did not bring the special detergent I use to wash your suit, so just leave it there and I’ll toss it with my jacket that’s more smoky than anything else. Ha smoky, get it?”

 

“You don’t have to wash my suit. I can do it,” Oliver protests. This is a conversation...or is it argument? They have had for  _months_  now. Felicity doesn’t think it’s much of an argument ‘cause he says no and she does it anyway and he  _lets_ her.

 

Felicity walks back to the sofa bed shaking her head as places the glass of water and painkillers on the table and then helps him out of his suit. “You say that, but yet we both know you’d just toss it back onto the mannequin, blood, sweat and dirt be damned. It  _smells_  Oliver.  _Ergo,_  you smell. That nice musty smell of yours can’t hide the  _grime_  of that suit after a day of vigilante-ing.”

“That’s not a word,” Oliver offers weakly. Felicity just sends him a look at which he sighs and lets her carefully pull his arms out of his jacket.

Once it’s tossed to the floor she automatically goes to belt of his pants, the moment her fingers brushes against the bruised spot of his torso they both freeze. Felicity is pretty sure time stopped in that moment; Oliver’s eyes are wide and all the blood rushes to her face.

“Right, you can do that part on your own,” she mumbles moving to grab the first aid kit and pulling out the supplies. 

Oliver for the most part does not say anything, but quickly rids himself of his leather pants, having already lost the boots. When he sits on the rickety sofa bed in just his briefs, Felicity bites her lip; she did not think things through. She holds up a bottle of antiseptic and cotton swaps and looks Oliver in the eye, trying and failing to not let her eyes wander. 

“Do you have any cuts that need cleaning?” She asks her voice slightly shaky.

“Um... my hip.” Oliver stutters nervously as he gets to his feet with her help. Oliver does  _not_  stutter, and for the first time Felicity is realizing how much of an affect her nearness has on _him_. “I think I landed on a rock or something.”

He twists his body to face her and Felicity is given a front row view to his round ass encased in his briefs.  She bites her lips, watching the slight curve of his ass tighten at her gaze. She then catches sight of the angry red blotches of Oliver’s side and gasps on seeing the jagged cut. 

“Oliver! You said you just had bruises, this is  _not_  a bruise.” Felicity admonishes already soaking the cotton ball with antiseptic. 

She tugs the waistband of his briefs down to get a proper look at the cut. She is so focused on her task at hand she does not hear Oliver’s intake of breath or the way his body tenses. Her small hand splays across his back and torso, her thumb gently pulling at the raw skin and she gently pats it with the antiseptic.

“I really wished you had come back to STAR labs and let Caitlin look at this.” Felicity admonishes, pressing down on the cut a little harder than necessary, but Oliver doesn’t even flinched instead he remains stoic at her side.

She takes his lack of response as an invitation to continue. “Joe, _literally_ brought you outside of STAR labs.”

“I don’t need a doctor.” Oliver says stubbornly. Felicity wonders briefly who is more stubborn between the two, her for not dropping the topic or Oliver for not even _considering_ her words. “You’ve been doing a great job of patching me up for the past two years, why change that?”

“Yes, and we both know I enjoy playing doctor with you…” Felicity huffs in annoyance at herself, eyes fixated on Oliver’s torso instead of looking up at him. She does however notice that he lost some of the tension in his body at her comment. “I’m not even going to bother with that one. I just think a _real_ doctor…”

“Felicity, I don’t want anyone else patching me up. I only want you.” Oliver all but growls out in frustration but this time they both freeze at _his_ slip of the tongue, they are both well aware of the elephant in the room but neither of them addresses it yet again.

Felicity clears her throat and stands back up eyeing the now clean cut, “I don’t think it needs a band aid. The rest of your body just looks like you got a good beating.”

“Barry is lucky I held back my punches,” Oliver mutters petulantly.

Felicity does not have the heart to point out that Barry’s speed gave him the advantage and Oliver just could not fight him on a hand to hand combat. Oliver’s bow and arrow is another story, not that Felicity was choosing sides, cause she would _never_.

“You’re both lucky you’re alive,” Felicity mutters angrily. “Barry is particularly lucky you have those ninja reflexes, letting you fall from the roof like that.”

She grabs the large bands Oliver uses to wrap his torso and her fingers curl around the dirty white material as she thinks about Oliver falling from the roof. A large hand encompasses her own, bringing her out of her thoughts.

Oliver looks at her with soft, understanding eyes, “Hey, I’m okay.”

Felicity bites her lips forcing herself not to cry, “I know, but you couldn’t…and if you hadn’t…”

Oliver takes an unstable step towards her and before she could ask he has his large arms wrapped around her pulling her into a hug, despite his bruised torso. “Oliver, your ribs…”

“I’m fine.” He promises, his lips just barely grazing her temple. Felicity sags in his arms, her head pressing against his chest, mindful of the bruises at his chest bone.

“I can’t lose anyone else,” She confesses softly.

She knows where they stand in terms of their none-relationship, but one thing is for certain she doesn’t him to _die_ doing this life he’s chosen. She knows he thinks that’s the only way for him and she while she does not agree with it, she refuses to let him think that _accepting_ death is as easy as accepting being the Arrow.

“You won’t,”

It’s any empty promise, they both know that, but part of her hopes that him saying that out loud, making a promise like that to her, means he’s at least going to _try_ and keep it. She takes a step back and wrinkles her nose at his multi-coloured torso, her eyes travel down his legs, pointedly ignoring the way his grey material of his briefs twitch when her eyes linger a bit longer than they should.

“Do I just mummify you? ‘Cause I’m going to need more tape. I’m not certain there is a part of you that _isn’t_ bruised.” She says with a frown, forehead wrinkling at the deep purple mark at his collarbone.

Oliver chuckles as he raises his arms, wincing in pain, “just the ribs, everything else will fade in a few days.”

“I’m no longer feeling bad about those two arrows you shot Barry with,” Felicity huffs as she maneuvers around him to get the tape secure. “I mean I know he was suffering from some serious case of road rage but _really_ not everyone has super speedy healing.”

Oliver chuckles lightly as he rests his arm on her back as she bends over to secure the tape, like always he lets her go on about under the influence Barry and his recklessness. Once she finishes she pats his chest lightly just like she always does. “I’m glad all the meta humans are keen on staying in Central City.”

“You and me both.” Oliver agrees with a smile. His smiles are so rare these days she can’t help but return in kind.

Felicity tilts her head to the side and looks at Oliver’s bandaged torso closely. She can tell that her scrutiny is getting to him when he starts to shift uncomfortably, “you probably should have showered before I did that.”

“It’s fine,” Oliver grunts out still in pain. He grabs the painkiller and glass of water tossing three back easily. “I’ll figure something out in the morning.

“Alright.” Felicity wants to offer to help him, but she is certain it entails crossing that invisible line they have drawn between them. Felicity helping Oliver _shower_ that would be anything _but_ platonic. “Let me help you get into bed.”

“I got it from here,” Oliver says softly.

He makes a purposeful step towards the spare bedroom, hand at his side and he shuffles slowly across the living room. Felicity simply sighs in defeat knowing that if she pushes him they will only end up angry at each other. She takes off her glasses resting them next Oliver’s painkillers and yawns, the night’s events finally catching up to her.

“Oliver?” She calls out suddenly, ignoring the nagging in her brain to drop the topic. Oliver does not answer her, but instead stops in his tracks and Felicity takes that as an invitation to continue. “You know that promise you just made?”

This time he does turn to face her, his eyes wide and curious. “Yeah?”

“If you’re going to keep it, you’re going to have to start letting people help you,” she says seriously. She gives him one finally look before she turns on her heels to head back to her own bedroom.

“Felicity.”

His voice is soft, much softer than she has ever heard it, but she stops in her tracks and looks at him curiously. He gives a sheepish smile, “Can you help me….with the bed…the pillows need to be propped up and I…”

Felicity smiles in amusement at his stuttering and quickly walks up to him, her arm snaking gently around his torso mindful of his bruises. “See all you had to do was ask.”

She hears his muttered remark but lets it go as they made their way to the bedroom, at least it’s a start. It may be minor but she hopes its only the beginning of Oliver finally letting people in, or specifically finally letting _her_ in.


End file.
